1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus in which a main recording medium and an auxiliary recording medium are used, and, more particularly to an imaging apparatus in which an auxiliary recording medium unit that houses the auxiliary recording medium is detachably attached to an imaging apparatus main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera or a video camera, an accessory shoe for mounting an accessory such as a flash light for emitting auxiliary light or a microphone for recording sound is often provided. Such an accessory shoe of the imaging apparatus in the past includes a holding section for connecting the accessory to a flat mounting surface and a terminal section provided on the mounting surface for supplying power to and exchanging signals with the accessory. A connector that is inserted in the accessory shoe is provided in the accessory attached to the imaging apparatus. The connector includes an attaching section that is attached to the holding section of the accessory shoe and a connecting section provided in the attaching section for supplying power to and exchanging signals with the accessory.
The connector is inserted in the accessory shoe by linearly sliding the connector along the mounting surface with the attaching section of the connector pressed against the mounting surface of the accessory shoe and engaging the attaching section with the holding section of the accessory shoe. The connecting section of the accessory is electrically connected to the terminal section of the accessory shoe with the attaching section held by the holding section (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3528845 and JP-A-2007-6282).
In a video camera for business use and a video camera of a high-end model for higher-level amateur users, a DV tape or an optical disk such as a DVD or a BD stored in a video camera main body is used as a main recording medium. Besides, there is also proposed a video camera in which an auxiliary recording medium unit that houses an auxiliary recording medium is detachably mounted on an apparatus main body to prepare for situations such as a recording mistake in the main recording medium and recording exceeding a recording capacity. In this auxiliary recording medium unit, for example, a memory card is used as a recording medium. When the auxiliary recording medium unit is mounted on the video camera, the auxiliary recording medium unit is supplied with electric power of a video camera main body and driven. With such an auxiliary recording medium unit, it is possible to edit recorded data independently from the video camera by removing the auxiliary recording medium unit from the apparatus main body and, then, connecting the auxiliary recording medium to an editing device. Therefore, it is also possible to perform imaging and editing in parallel by using only the auxiliary recording medium unit to edit the recorded data.
In such a video camera, when a connecting section provided in the auxiliary recording medium unit is connected to a terminal section on the apparatus main body side on which the auxiliary recording medium unit is mounted, driving power is supplied to and an information signal is transmitted to the auxiliary recording medium unit. During imaging, after such an auxiliary recording medium unit is removed, it could be necessary to attach another auxiliary recording medium unit anew or replace a memory card inserted in the auxiliary recording medium unit. However, depending on an imaging condition such as data collection or relay broadcast, imaging may not be able to be suspended. Therefore, it is demanded that work for replacing the auxiliary recording medium unit and the memory card should be performed without suspending imaging.
For transmission of an information signal and stable supply of driving power, it is necessary that the terminal section on the apparatus main body side and the connecting section of the auxiliary recording medium unit are surely connected. Therefore, both the terminal sections need to have resistance against a load exerted thereon when the terminal sections are inserted in and detached from the connecting section. The video camera is used not only in a stationary state. The video camera may move together with the camera operator or may be sometimes used by the camera operator while running. In such a case, the terminal sections need to be strong enough not to break even if vibration and impact are transmitted to the terminal sections via the connecting section of the auxiliary recording medium unit.
A communication terminal based on, for example, the IEEE 1394 standard may be provided to be branched from a transmission path for transmitting an information signal other than the main-body-side terminal section connected to the auxiliary recording medium unit. When such a communication terminal and the main-body-side terminal section for the auxiliary recording medium unit are simultaneously used, plural external apparatuses are connected to the identical transmission path. As a result, transmitted signals are mixed and reliability of operations is spoiled.